The Hufflepuff Cupid
by QuinTalon
Summary: At his five year Hogwarts reunion, Draco meets a very persistent, somewhat annoying Hufflepuff. And it just may be the best thing that's ever happened to him.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Beta love to ravenslight - thank you for all you do. You're amazing!

The Great Hall was tastefully decorated in red, yellow, green, and blue – each color in honor of one of the Houses of Hogwarts. Laughter and friendly shouts echoed through the space as the reunion of those who graduated five years ago commenced.

The four long tables that usually occupied the hall had been replaced by small cocktail stands covered in white linens stationed along the walls, leaving space in the center for dancing and mingling. A lone wizard leaned against the bar situated beside the roaring fireplace, firewhisky in hand as his eyes followed the movements of a curly haired witch across the room.

So focused was he on her that the blond wizard jumped when he heard someone speak next to him. Turning his head, his grey eyes fell on an unfamiliar witch. She was pretty in an understated way, with shoulder-length auburn hair and warm brown eyes that glittered behind dark framed glasses.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, realizing he hadn't heard what the witch had said.

Grinning as she signaled the bartender for a drink, she replied, "I said why don't you ask her to dance?"

Crossing his arms, he shifted his eyes away. "I don't know who you are talking about."

"Hermione Granger, of course. You've been watching her all night."

Pale eyebrows raised high, the wizard sputtered. "Excuse me? I have done no such th—"

"Of course you have. No sense in denying it." The witch waved her hand dismissively. "It's just like when we were in school. Your eyes were always on her when you thought no one was looking."

His eyes narrowed as he stood straight, hands clenched at his side. "Just who do you think you are? You know nothing about me!"

"I know you well enough, Draco Malfoy. You were the Slytherin Prince, Seeker for your house Quidditch team, among other things. "

He scoffed. "Yeah, Death Eater. Failure. Evil git who should be in Azkaban."

Eyes flashing, she slammed her glass onto the bar. "Did I say that? Do you think I would stand here trying to have a friendly conversation if I thought that?"

Taken aback at the fierce look on her face, Draco quickly shook his head. "No."

"You are more than just your past and you know it. I saw you at school, though I doubt you ever noticed me. You put on a cruel front, but I saw you in moments you probably didn't want anyone to see. I saw you be kind to the younger students in your house. I saw how loyal you were to your friends and family. And I saw how you longed for someone you could not have."

Draco's eyes widened, and his face lost what little color it had. "How do you—"

"Besides, you are not the only one working to overcome their past and undo the harm done by their parents. There are others like you, and I see them too." Her honey brown eyes bored into his before she took a deep breath and shook her head.

Shooting him a sheepish smile, the witch shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry. I don't like when people talk harshly about others, but especially themselves. I didn't mean to snap at you. I really just came over to have a nice chat with you."

Draco stood still, mouth slightly open. "Who _are_ you?"

With a smirk worthy of a Slytherin, she quipped, "You know, I really should make you figure it out. We _did_ go to school together for seven years, after all."

At the blank look on his face, the witch chuckled and extended her hand. "Samantha Powell. Hufflepuff."

Draco hesitated only for a moment before shaking the extended hand. "Pleasure," he drawled.

"Yes, isn't it?"

He let out a surprised laugh. "Cheeky. Did you really go to Hogwarts? I think I would remember someone like you."

"Yes, I did. I was in multiple classes with you."

His brows furrowed. "Really?"

Rolling her eyes, Samantha chuckled. "Yes, really. Though I'm not surprised you don't remember. I didn't have a lightning scar or wildly curly hair."

With wide eyes, he stared at her, disbelief clear on his face. "Oh really. What are you saying? That I had a thing for two members of the Golden Trio?"

She scoffed. "No, just a thing for Hermione. And a fairly well-known hatred for Harry." She shrugged. "And Ron. But you never seemed to focus on him as much."

He huffed.

Samantha leaned in towards him. "It's okay, you know. To like her."

"I know it is! Not that I do. We're… we're friends now."

"Mhmm. I know you are. But I don't have any friends that look at me the way you look at her."

Draco crossed his arms and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "And how do I look at her?"

Head resting against her hand, elbow on the bar, Samantha smirked. "Like she's your everything… and like you want to push her against the nearest surface and make her tell you what a naughty witch she's been before you—"

"Okay! Enough… _Merlin_." Draco ran a hand through his hair, a blush creeping across his cheeks.

"What? It's true," she managed to say through her laughter. "So, back to my original question: why don't you ask her to dance?"

"Because… I don't know." He shrugged weakly.

"That's not an answer, you know."

Draco groaned. "Salazar's sweaty sack! You're a right pain in my arse."

"Why thank you. I take that as a compliment, coming from you."

"Why are you bothering me anyway? Isn't there someone else you could pester?" He pointed across the room. "Look, Longbottom's alone. Go cheer him up."

"Nah, he's here with Hannah Abbott. She's probably just gone to the loo or something." As if summoned, the pretty blonde appeared next to Neville, who greeted her with a wide grin and kiss on the cheek. "See? So you get to bask in my company for awhile longer."

Rolling his eyes, Draco murmured, "Oh, joy."

"So please tell me again why you won't ask the woman you are pining for to dance with you?"

He sighed loudly. "Because she only sees me as a friend. She doesn't feel the same as I do. Happy now?"

Samantha shook her head with a sad smile. "No. How do you know she only sees you as a friend if you've never asked her?"

He turned incredulous eyes to her. "Well, her hanging all over Weasley may have something to do with it."

"Oh, tosh. They're not dating and you know it. Quit using that as an excuse."

"An excu— Listen here, Hufflepuff. I don't know you. We are not friends. I have no idea why you've decided to latch onto me tonight, but please stop butting into my personal life."

Grinning widely, Samantha poked Draco in the arm. "Ah, but I've decided I like you, despite your rather prickly personality. And when I like someone, I make them my friend. So you're my friend now, whether you want to be or not."

Draco slowly shook his head. "You cannot be serious."

"I'm very serious. And here's the thing about being my friend. I hate to see anyone be unhappy – especially my friends – when there is something I can do about it."

"And just what can you do about it?" he sneered.

"What you have not realized, Draco, is that while you have been watching Hermione when you think no one is looking, she has been doing the same to you. And has for a long time. The two of you are so good at hiding it, that no one has really noticed. Except me that is. Being the shy, quiet girl people forgot was there did have some benefits. I saw and heard things others didn't."

Looking slightly confused, he asked, "So what are you saying?"

Samantha fought the urge to whack him upside the head. "Are you really this dense? I'm saying that your dream witch likes you in return. So go get her."

"Oi! I'm not dense!" He deflated a little and quietly said, "I just…she can't. Not after the way I treated her."

"Oh, but she can. You told me yourself that you two are friends now. Is it really that hard to believe her feelings could go beyond that, if she was willing to forgive you enough to be friends?"

Not able to supply an answer, he merely shrugged.

"Come on. What could it hurt to just ask her to dance with you?"

"Oh, it could hurt. A lot. She punches really hard, you know," he said with a smirk.

"So, you're not going to even try?"

Draco sighed and leaned back again the bar again. "No, I'm not. Now leave me alone. Go 'Puff all over someone else."

"No."

He quirked an eyebrow. "No?"

"Not until you grow a pair and ask that lovely witch to dance. It won't kill you, y'know."

"It might." He ran a hand over his face and huffed. "Though dealing with you is becoming a close second."

"Okay, Mr Grumpy Pants. I'll make you a deal. I'll leave you alone if you go and ask Hermione to dance."

"Fine. But she won't accept. Either way, I expect you to be gone when I come back over."

Samantha held her hand out again, smiling wickedly when he shook it. "Deal. Now, go sweep your woman off her feet."

* * *

She watched as Draco pasted on a mask of confidence before swaggering over to the far side of the room. She followed his blond head as he stopped beside Hermione. The curly haired witch beamed at him and seemed to hold in a laugh at whatever he was saying. _Merlin, he's probably fumbling his words while trying to maintain his suave aura._

He held out his hand to Hermione, who accepted it with a shy smile and flattering blush. He guided her to the dance floor as a slow song began to play. Samantha smiled as she observed the two slowly begin to dance, each moving closer to the other as the song went on. Neither pulled away when the song ended and another began.

_Ah, mission accomplished._

Grinning happily to herself, Samantha's eyes swept across the room, looking for someone else to talk with. Hmmm, Greg Goyle was standing by himself looking lonely. Well, she had already befriended one Slytherin tonight. Maybe she could do so with another. After getting her glass refilled, she headed towards him with a friendly smile.

Two hours later, Samantha felt very accomplished. Greg was having a lively discussion with Parvati Patil at a nearby table, while her sister Padma was laughing with Seamus Finnigan. She had noticed Seamus casting glances at the Ravenclaw so had suggested he ask if she'd like a drink. _Another success, _she thought with a self-satisfied grin.

A tap on her shoulder startled her slightly. Samantha turned to find a grinning Hermione hand in hand with a smug Draco.

Smiling widely, she greeted them. "Hello, Hermione. Draco. Having a nice evening?"

Hermione blushed and nodded, while Draco rolled his eyes as he smirked.

"Oh, yes. This evening has been… perfect. Thank you, Hufflepuff," Draco snarked.

Hermione tsked. "Her name is Samantha, Draco."

Dropping his hand, Hermione leaned in to give Samantha a hug. "Thank you, Sam," she whispered.

"I told you it would work," Samantha squeezed her friend tightly. "Good luck."

The two witches pulled apart and smiled at one another as Draco's eyebrow quirked. "You know each other?"

Hermione turned towards him smiling. "Of course! We shared classes for seven years, Draco. Sam and I have been friends since first year."

"What? But… I don't remember seeing you two together."

"That's because you were hardly ever in the library. Sam and I often shared a table when we studied there."

"Oh." His eyes widened as he turned towards Samantha. "_Oh_. That's why you…"

"Yup. I told you. I don't like to see my friends unhappy."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her as he crossed his arms. "Are you sure you were in Hufflepuff? You seem to be a bit of a Slytherin."

Samantha chuckled. "Only when needed, my friend. Now go on. You two enjoy your evening."

Hermione smiled brightly at her and blushed as Draco grabbed her hand, pulling her back onto the dance floor with a smirk.

Samantha watched with a happy grin as Draco spun Hermione and then dipped her, causing a delightful giggle.

"I see our resident Hufflepuff Cupid has been busy tonight."

"Mmm – Not a bad night's work if I do say so myself." Chuckling, Samantha turned to greet her old roommate and friend. "Hello, Hannah."

Hannah grinned at her and looped her arm through Samantha's, giving it a squeeze. Looking at her from the side of her eye with her most innocent face, Hannah asked, "So when are you going to use some of those matchmaking skills for yourself?"

Samantha's eyes darted to a tall brunette Slytherin dancing intimately with his _lovely_ date. She swallowed and pulled her eyes away, focusing on Hannah with a lackluster smile. "Oh, you know I can only use my powers for others. Sad to say that they don't work for me."

Hannah glanced to where her friend's eyes had strayed and nodded sadly. "Shame, that. Maybe someday someone will play Cupid for you."

Samantha hummed in agreement, her eyes once more falling on Theo Nott.


	2. Chapter 2

**One Year Later**

Samantha's gaze swept over the Great Hall, the decorations very similar to the previous year's celebration. She was standing next to the bar sipping her drink and watching the couples on the dance floor. Greg was leading Parvati in a surprisingly smooth dance, gliding over the floor effortlessly. Hannah and Neville were swaying slowly together, her head on his shoulder, their hands clasped together on his chest. Seamus and Padma were laughing and giggling together as they attempted dance moves that would have fit in better at a disco, both twisting and turning while throwing their arms about.

Samantha smiled, content. Until she spotted Theo chatting with a group of friends across the hall. She sighed and took another sip.

"Why don't you ask him to dance?"

Smiling crookedly, Samantha turned towards her friend. "I'm not sure I know what you are talking about, Draco."

"Mmhmm." He leaned again the bar and smirked at her.

"Where's Hermione?"

Draco gestured towards the far wall, where Hermione was laughing with Harry and Ron. Samantha noticed the look of adoration on his face as he gazed at her.

"I hear congratulations are in order. When is the wedding?"

Smiling broadly, if a bit smugly, Draco turned his attention back to Samantha. "We are still working out the details, but I think we will have a winter wedding. You are expected to be there, of course."

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world." She laid a hand on Draco's arm. "I am truly happy for you both."

He squeezed her hand for a moment, his face serious. "Thank you, Samantha." He pulled back and smirked at her. "I am extremely grateful you annoyed me at last year's reunion."

Samantha chuckled. "Ah, you're most welcome. Happy to be of service."

"Now, don't think you have distracted me. Turnabout is fair play and all that. Now that I've gotten to know you over the past year, I feel I can say that you, my dear Hufflepuff, are harbouring a crush. On one of my best friends, no less."

Feeling her face heat from the blush spreading up from her neck, Samantha cleared her throat and tucked some hair behind her ear. She fought the urge to look in the direction of said wizard, focusing instead on the drink in her hand. "I'm not sure I like being on this side of the conversation."

Draco grinned at her. "Yeah, not so fun is it?"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye and sheepishly shook her head. "Nope. I'd much rather take on an angry hippogriff." She sighed. "So what? Are you going to stay here and try to annoy me all evening? I warn you: I am much more patient than you are. I'll happily chat with you all evening."

Huffing a laugh, Draco looked over towards his friend Theo. "No, I'm not going to annoy you. I know that won't work on you." He straightened and turned towards her. "I am, however, going to drag you over to talk with him."

Samantha snapped her head towards him, eyes stretching wide and face paling. "No, please Draco. I— I can't."

He gently took her arm and tugged. "Oh, yes you can."

She tried to dig in her heels, but Draco was stronger and started to just slide her across the floor. Not wanting to cause a scene, she growled at him and started walking alongside him, her arm still held captive. She muttered under her breath, "You are going to pay for this, Draco Malfoy. You just wait."

Draco looked back at her with a smirk. "I'd like to see you try, little Hufflepuff."

Still searching for a way out, Samantha frantically scanned the crowd, hoping to find someone to save her. Her eyes caught Hermione's and then Hannah's as she silently pled with them to help. She almost froze in the middle of the hall when she realized that both were smiling smugly at her. _Oh no._ She narrowed her eyes at them. How dare they turn on her like this? _Those _— _those sneaky buggers!_

Her mind raced. Surely there was a way out of this humiliation. _Maybe I could pretend to twist my ankle or feign memory loss, or_— _or_— _Yeah, okay. Those are stupid ideas._

Before she could formulate a plan, Draco was pulling her into the group of former Slytherins. Thankfully, Theo's back was still to her. She swallowed and tried to hide behind Draco, but he was having none of it and pushed her in front of him.

Blaise noticed their arrival and grinned broadly. He glanced at Theo and then stepped forward, loudly greeting them. "Well, well, Draco. I see you've brought a friend. You look lovely tonight, Samantha." He reached out and gently brought her hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. She noticed Theo spin around quickly, his eyes wide.

She focused back on Blaise and smiled shyly at him. "Thank you, Blaise. You look dashing as ever."

"But of course I do, my dear. It's just my natural state of being." He winked as he straightened.

She chuckled before humming in agreement. She looked over his shoulder and smiled at the witches behind him. "Hello, girls. Having a nice evening?"

Daphne and Pansy both smiled and nodded. Daphne stepped forward and took hold of Blaise's arm. "It's good to see you, Samantha. I love your dress."

Samantha ran her hand over her skirt. "Thanks. Hermione helped me pick it out."

"And it took her forever. She's worse at shopping for clothes than I am." Hermione smiled at her as she stepped next to Draco, linking her fingers through his.

Samantha shrugged. "You were the one who insisted on going with me. I warned you."

Hermione huffed a laugh. "Yes, you did." She turned her head and looked up at Draco. "You promised me a dance, mister. I've come to collect."

Beaming down at her, Draco pulled her hand to his lips and gave it a sweet kiss. "I did, didn't I? Excuse us, I've got to sweep my lady off her feet." He wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and guided her onto the dance floor.

Samantha watched as the two stared into each other's eyes, seeming to forget the world around them. She was about to excuse herself before she did anything completely mortifying in front of Theo – like confess her undying love for him or just stare at him like a creeper – but was stopped by Blaise's voice.

"They have the right idea." He winked at Daphne. "Come on, love. Let's show them how's it done." The witch on his arm giggled and tugged him forward to join the other dancers.

Pansy squeezed Samantha's arm as she walked past her. "I need to check on Weasley, make sure he's not trying to eat the entire buffet." She leaned in and whispered, "Have fun, Powell," before sashaying away.

Samantha swallowed and slowly turned to look at Theo, the only one of the group remaining. His blue eyes were focused on her as he stood completely still. She cleared her throat. "I— it's nice to see you, Theo."

He remained silent and merely nodded his head slowly. When a minute had passed in awkward silence, Samantha took a step backwards. "I— I should probably..." She weakly gestured behind her with her thumb.

She started to turn when Theo loudly blurted out, "No!" His eyes went wide, and he stammered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I… would you…" He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes met hers, and she could not look away. "Merlin, I'm terrible at this," he muttered.

He took a step towards her and offered his hand. "Dance with me?"

Samantha stared into his eyes, clear blue like a summer's day. She lost herself in them for a moment before she noticed him pulling away. She snatched his hand in hers quickly and squeaked out, "Yes!" _Oh, _that _was a flattering sound. Well done, Sam._

She could feel her face flushing as she took a breath and nodded. "Yes, I would love to."

Theo's responding grin was dazzling.

* * *

Draco checked on Theo's progress out of the corner of his eye. He was pleased to see his old friend leading the Hufflepuff onto the dance floor and pulling her into his arms. He smiled and returned his attention to the perfect witch whose body was melded to his as they danced.

"Looks like Theo finally got up the nerve to ask her dance," Hermione whispered, a delighted grin on her face.

"Yes, about time too. I knew he'd had his eye on someone since seventh year; I just didn't know who. Now I understand why he was in the library and kitchens so often that last year." Draco chuckled.

"Really? I thought his interest was more recent." She tsked. "Honestly. I'm glad we stepped in then. Sam's been pining for him since fifth year. They probably would've kept on denying it for years." She shook her head in frustration.

"Probably. Though, we might have done the same if Hufflepuff hadn't annoyed me into asking you to dance last year."

Hermione's cheeks glowed pink as she bit her bottom lip and lifted her eyes to him sheepishly. "Yes, well. That's entirely different."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And how is that?"

Grinning mischievously, she lifted on her toes and whispered into his ear, "Because I was very close to risking it all and dragging you off into some secluded corner to have my wicked way with you." Draco growled quietly and pulled her tighter to him. "You know how impatient I can be. It was starting to override my fear of your rejection." She pulled back and smirked at him. "Which I now know to be unfounded."

Draco's eyes darkened as he leaned down and muttered into her ear, "Be careful, sweetheart, or I might find that secluded corner with you right now."

He heard her breath hitch before she whispered, "What's stopping you?"

Draco stepped back from her, grabbed her hand, and pivoted around quickly, pulling her behind him as he practically sprinted to the doors leading out of the Great Hall. He looked back and grinned when he heard Hermione's adorable giggles.

He held the door open for her, taking one last look into the hall. His eyes fell on a couple standing still amongst the swaying dancers around them. He smirked as he watched Theo cup Samantha's face and slowly lower his lips to hers.

_Mission accomplished._


End file.
